Colony : strange origins of one of the earliest modern democracies / Reg Hamilton.
Publication details: Kent Town, S. Aust. : Wakefield Press, 2010.Edition: 1st edDescription: viii, 311 p., [8] p. of plates : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 24 cmISBN:- 9781862548930 (pbk.)
- Hamilton family
- Hamilton family
- 1836 - 1900
- Emigration and immigration
- Pioneers
- Colonization
- Political science
- Political science
- Colonization
- Pioneers -- Australia -- South Australia
- Pioneers -- South Australia
- England -- Dover
- England
- South Australia
- South Australia -- History -- 1836-1851
- South Australia -- History -- 1836-1850
- Dover (England) -- Politics and government
- South Australia -- Politics and government -- 1836-1900
- South Australia -- Colonization
- England -- Emigration and immigration -- History
- 994.2302 22
- DU320 .H36 2010
| Item type | Home library | Collection | Call number | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item reserves | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Book | Melbourne Athenaeum Library | Non-Fiction | 994.230 HAM | Available | 058425 |
Includes bibliographical references (p. 297-307) and index.
Chapter 1. Trouble at St Mary's -- Chapter 2. The town and port of Dover -- Chapter 3. The ancient and busy Dover Corporation -- Chapter 4. The end of the old Dover Corporation -- Chapter 5. More trouble at St Mary's -- Chapter 6. Civilising Dover -- Chapter 7. The freemen of Dover -- Chapter 8. The freemen vote and have a party or riot -- Chapter 9. Where did free debate at the hustings come from? -- Chapter 10. The liberties of the people -- Chapter 11. Crime and punishment -- Chapter 12. The British colonists arrive at South Australia -- Chapter 13. The glorious free press of South Australia exposes the corrupt allocation of bullocks -- Chapter 14. Why was the province of South Australia there at all? -- Chapter 15. The Aboriginals of South Australia -- Chapter 16. The experiment with democracy -- Chapter 17. Building the colony -- Chapter 18. District councils -- Chapter 19. The Brighton Disctrict Council -- Chapter 20. The imperial experience -- Chapter 21. The coming of self-government -- Chapter 22. Colonial Australia becomes respectable and gains assemblies -- Chapter 23. Conclusion : brothers become cousins.
Until 1832 the small towns of England were ruled by a curious set of institutions. These included the local Church of England and its vestry, and the unelected and self-appointing local government. They also had vigorous campaigns for election to the House of Commons, and public voting, characterised by virulent free speech and the occasional riot. How would these institutions transfer to Britain's colonies? In 1856 the remote colony of South Australia had the secret ballot, votes for all adult men, and religious freedom, and in 1857 self-government by an elected parliament. The basic framework of a modern democracy was suddenly established. How did South Australia become so modern, so early? How were British institutions radically transformed by British colonists, and why did the Colonial Office allow it? Reg Hamilton answers these questions with an amusing history of the curious institutions of unreconstructed Dover before modern democracy, in the period 1780-1835, and of the spirited and occasionally shameful conduct of colonists far from home, but determined to make their fortune in the distant colony of South Australia. (Publisher)
